Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 30
Slowly, Adrien opened his eyes just a crack, then closed them again. He was drifting slowly out of the most marvelous dream... not that dreams about her were something unusual for him lately.
Hmmm.
He remembered watching television with Marinette... a series about children who found magical trinkets with special powers. Wasn't THAT nearly a bit too on-the-nose? he grinned to himself. Quietly, he applauded himself for not making any kind of cat-related jokes while it was on.
They'd gotten through at least three episodes... maybe into the fourth? Bits and pieces of it danced around the edges of his memory. He'd have to look it up later and figure out where they'd left off; it was definitely entertaining enough to continue.
His brain was still a little bit fuzzy around the edges. He remembered cuddling up with Marinette on the loveseat vividly, of course; snuggled up as the small spoon, she felt like the piece of himself that he never knew he'd been missing. Not a lot of kissing this time... there were a couple of affectionate pecks from time to time, but their closeness seemed enough all by itself.
But when had he gone up to his room and climbed into bed? Had he tucked Marinette in? Had she tucked him in? Had they said anything to each other then? It was all a blur to him. He couldn't even remember climbing the stairs.
And... my guest bed is comfortable, a flicker of awareness took the opportunity to mention to him, but it doesn't have cushions BEHIND me when I'm lying on my side, does it?
Did I never go up at all? he wondered. Ahh, that must be it. I'm dreaming that I'm still down there on the loveseat with Marinette. I can almost feel her warmth in front of me.
I... CAN feel warmth in front of me. Right now!
Adrien opened his eyes. He noticed first that he was horizontal, and still facing the living room television... and that a pretty young woman was sitting on the couch, smiling down at him.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," she giggled.
"H-hi," Adrien murmured, with a smile of his own. "Good morning? It looks like morning."
"It is. It's about eight o'clock," said Marinette. "I figured that I'd keep you company, so you wouldn't be alone when you woke up."
"Oh! Thank you," he yawned. "I must have fallen asleep down here last night."
"Actually... we did," Marinette corrected him. "It must've been around one or two when we dropped off."
"What... together, on the loveseat?" he asked.
"Uh-huh. Apparently, you make a very nice pillow."
"I was happy to be of service!" smirked Adrien. "I thought that only worked on a Startrain."
"Yeah, well... you might want to get ready for today," blushed Marinette. "We, um... kind of got caught like that."
"We did?" yelped Adrien, sitting up, suddenly wide awake. "By whom?"
"Everybody?"
Marinette got some amusement from the sudden panic on Adrien's face. "It's fine, Adrien. Nobody's mad, we were fully dressed..." she assured him. "Go up and get your shower, and we'll see what teasing we get at breakfast?"
"Y-yeah... I'll do that," gulped Adrien.
"Hey," she said, leaning in close. "Trust me, okay? I talked with Mama. She calmed me down first; I'm pretty sure I made the same face you're making now."
"All right... if you're sure." Adrien squeezed her hand, then headed upstairs.
When Adrien reemerged, washed and dressed, he found Marinette sitting in the kitchen and Sabine setting a plate for him next to her.
"Good morning," Sabine smiled. "You like your eggs over easy, correct?"
"No more often than they let me eat them at home, I'll take them any way I can get them," Adrien beamed. "But, yes, this looks delicious. Thank you very much!"
"Ah," she nodded wisely. "The dreaded dieticians. Eggs aren't that unhealthy, though, are they? It seems like every couple of years, they go back and forth on that. They're good, they're bad, they're good, they'll kill you slowly... then it'll be the egg substitutes that they warn you about next."
"I've learned not to ask," noted Adrien, in between mouthfuls. "Every time I tell them that I like something, it seems like it leaves the meal rotation soon after."
"I hope that doesn't apply to your lady friends as well," chuckled Sabine. She saw Adrien and Marinette each cringe slightly, and added, "Oh, dear. Tell me that I didn't just touch a nerve?"
"Well..." began Marinette, hesitantly. "Mr. Agreste has some kind of business deal going on with Mrs. Tsurugi. Adrien and Kagami weren't seeing each other because of that, exactly..."
"...But it certainly seemed like we were maneuvered together to see if we would get along," finished Adrien. "Which we did, and we do, of course."
"You're worried that your father might not approve of Marinette dating you, instead?" frowned Sabine.
"No one could disapprove of her once they've known her for thirty seconds," insisted Adrien, drawing an adoring look from Marinette. "More like that I could see them subtly... encouraging me the other way."
"If we get to that point... I'm not afraid of that," Marinette added.
"If?" asked Sabine, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
"If we get there," repeated Marinette. "So far, so good."
"About that," Adrien said, putting his fork down. "Mrs. Cheng... should we speak about what you saw this morning? I don't want to overstep your and Mr. Dupain's rules, any more than I'd want to overstep with Marinette."
"Well, I know what Tom saw this morning. He was so outraged and horrified that he put a quilt over you two so as not to disturb you," Sabine replied, knowingly. "Marinette, did you feel like Adrien took any liberties with you last night?"
"N-no! Of course not!" Marinette stammered. "He was a complete gentleman."
"And, Adrien... Marinette didn't try to push you into anything, did she?" added Sabine, dryly.
Marinette glared at her mother, as Adrien's knife hit the floor with a loud clattering sound. "I can assure you, Mrs. Cheng, that she d-didn't," he replied, nervously. "I'm... uh... I was asleep for a while, but... no, I know she wouldn't..."
Adrien didn't even need to turn his head towards Marinette to know that that was the Wrong Answer, as Sabine suppressed a giant laugh. "W-wait! I mean... Oh, gosh," he panicked.
"Let me tell you a little story, Adrien," Sabine grinned. "A little something that my mother told me, when I was your age. She said, 'Sabine, now that you're dating, there are two things you need to keep in mind. One, never sleep with a man until you're married; and two, never marry a man who snores.'"
"...What did you say to that?" Marinette asked.
"What else? 'But, Mama, then how am I supposed to know if he snores or not?'" laughed Sabine. "I think my rear was sore for a week after that."
"So," Sabine sparkled, greatly amused by the Did she just SAY THAT? looks on the kids' faces, "I think Marinette was just doing some independent research about your snoring last night, in a very harmless and cuddly way. Did you find out, dear?"
"I... don't know," said Marinette, blank-faced. "I was asleep."
"Hmmph! Always a problem with that kind of study," deadpanned Sabine. "So I suppose that further tests will be needed."
Marinette and Adrien stared at each other, their faces screaming How do we answer that?
Finally, Sabine broke out into laughter. "Adrien... you should see the look you have right now! I apologize," she giggled. "You two did nothing wrong. You simply fell asleep! If you two ever do start crossing our boundaries, we will let you know... but I do not expect that we will ever have to."
"Oh, and let me get you a new knife," she smiled, turning away to the silverware drawer.
Adrien turned back to Marinette with a stunned look on his face. Marinette shrugged, and mouthed I warned you! to him with a helpless smile.
To their relief, the rest of the day in the bakery was devoid of drama. Tom gave the two of them a knowing grin a few times, but left it at that.
Nathalie checked in with Adrien in mid-afternoon, with no new news on either side. He was happy to hear that no one in the household had displayed any notable symptoms yet; she was happy to hear that he wasn't consuming large quantities of fattening pastries on a daily basis. She inquired politely about Kagami, confirming that he was not taking her lightly; he asked about additional clothes, was told that another care package would arrive that evening, and stressed that yes, he would wash the contents thoroughly in hot water just to be sure.
Marinette sent Alya a brief update... with instructions not to pass on every single detail to their friends yet. "We've been kissing" seemed like sufficient information to provide; somehow, she judged that saying "we slept together last night" would cause far more harm than good.
The makeshift family smiled warmly over dinner, exchanging small observations and stories as if they'd been all doing this together for years.
It was a strange peace for all of them... a new normal found together in extraordinary times. A sense of belonging for Adrien, something that he'd been craving for as long as he could remember; a feeling of ease for Marinette, the intimacy with Adrien that she'd craved growing day by day. A warmth within Tom and Sabine, so greatly pleased that Adrien clearly felt comforted in their care, and feeling very supportive of what was clearly blossoming before them.
And yet... there was a slight underlying tension as well, one that they couldn't put their fingers on, exactly. A knowledge that this was all temporary, perhaps, wondering what the dynamic might become once Adrien returned home? Or the uncertainty of the times they were living in, and knowing how easily one infected customer or one unfortunate contact during a grocery run could bring it all crashing to a halt.
For the moment, they each took what they could get. Coq au vin passed around a dining-room table, stolen kisses after dark and a comfortable daily routine might not be able to solve the world's problems... but it seemed like a rather good start.
